These Days
by yoho-hey
Summary: After two years, Joel finally works off his long-awaited promise of teaching Ellie how to play guitar.


So I've had this idea in mind for like almost a year and last night all of a sudden I was like I'm gonna write it! And I do know that this whole guitar thing was in One Night Live (which I did not see the last scene unfortunately) but I swear I've had it for a long time now dont hurt me! It will be a different version anyway. :P Also as a guitar player myself, I hope none of my nerdy guitar lingo confuses anybody. :D

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These Days

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Ellie sat upright on her bed with her ankles crossed and her back against the pillow. She had been reading comic books for over an hour. She had so many now. As much as she hated to admit it, she was starting to get bored of them.

After all, it had been two long years since her and Joel made it back at Tommy's, and they figured they had no reason to be any place else. It was a lot safer here, anyway. They had amazing security, and hadn't been ambushed in months.

Here at Tommy's, it was such a large settlement that they had given Ellie her own room. As much as she loved having her own space, she felt absolutely spoiled about it though.

She slouched herself down into the pillow and lowered the comic to her lap, sighing lightly. It was raining that night. She gazed out the window, blowing up her cheeks and doing pointless mouth movements out of pure boredom. It must have been around 11:00pm, or later. It was so quiet, which she had gotten used to a long time ago.

Ellie found it difficult to fall asleep at night. Her and Joel had been through so much, leaving her with just as much thoughts about it, especially when trying to fall asleep. She had accepted the fact that this is the way it was most likely going to be forever. It saddened her sometimes because she knew she had a very little chance of knowing what it was like before everything turned to shit.

But, for once, it was actually starting to feel like it. At least, she was certain that right now was as close as she was ever gonna get to how things used to be.

The rain battered against the window, seeming like it was the only thing in the world at this time. She was actually surprised how quiet it was tonight. Ellie watched as the droplets trickled down the window pane. It was so heavy that there was nothing visible through the glass.

Ellie transitioned onto her knees as she collected all the comics that were splattered all over her bed and plopped them on the bedside table, creating a slapping sound that even startled her a little bit. She quickly pushed herself up off the mattress, and took a few steps before stopping in front of the window. She leaned on the sill and pursed her lips. She wasn't tired.

Looking over her shoulder, Ellie viewed around her bedroom. It was dark, besides the dim lamp next to her bed that had created shadows on the walls of every object in the room. She swayed slowly over to the dresser against the wall opposite her bed, swinging her arms dramatically and sucking on the inside of her cheeks. She thought about how she should be sleeping, but knew that if she tried to, she'd only be staring at the ceiling and left with nothing but her thoughts.

She caught sight of her reflection in the mirror that was ontop of the dresser. Folding her eyebrows, she approached it and stared at herself. She was wearing navy blue shorts that she usually slept in, and a loose plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. The features on her face changed ever so slightly from when she first met Joel, and her hair had gotten longer too, but still liked to wear it in her usual ponytail. She suddenly remembered Joel once telling her that he liked the length that it had gotten to, making her smile.

Her hand trailed up to her face as she continued to watch her reflection. She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear slowly, taking a deep but silent breath. Although she never had the time to think about it, mostly because there had always been more important things to be worrying about, but she felt pretty.

A very gentle knocking sound was heard from behind her and she turned her head. Before Ellie could call out, she saw a strip of bright light shine through, illuminating the room as the door creaked open: It was Joel.

He peaked his head in before catching sight of Ellie and stepping further in, half of his body still hidden behind the door. "Hey, kiddo."

She smiled at the ground for a few moments as she turned her body around completely, flicking her wrists out at her sides and patting them against her hips. She was happy to see him.

"I wasn't sure if you would be up." Joel continued, keeping his voice low.

"Yeah," There was a heavy sigh in her voice as she spoke. She began fiddling with her fingers. "Couldn't really sleep."

"I got something for you." A wide grin grew on his face, and before she could ask about it, he pulled his arm out from behind the half-open door and she noticed what he had been holding.

"No way!" Ellie beamed at the sight of it. "Is that a guitar?" She asked excitedly. The only time she had ever seen a real guitar was in an old building but it was completely wrecked and hadn't had much time to look at it, anyway.

Joel chuckled. "Tommy said he's had it for a while, but he forgot about it." As he held it out, his eyes scanned over the guitar, impressed with it. He must've just recieved it. It was dark brown and had a lighter beige trim all around it. "By the looks of it, I'd say it's in pretty good shape."

Ellie gaped at it in awe. "It's beautiful."

He walked completely in the room and Ellie noticed he did it rather quickly. She figured he must be pretty excited about it too, which was a rare thing to see coming from him, but it made her smile.

He took a seat on the end of the bed and the mattress creaked. He held the guitar on his lap and couldn't seem to take his eyes off the instrument, but neither could Ellie. She sat next to him shortly after and slightly twisted her body toward him.

Joel exhaled, continously repositioning his hands on it. "It's been so long."

Ellie chuckled. "You sure you remember how to play that thing?" She joked with him.

He couldn't help but let out a slight laugh as well. "I better." He looked over at Ellie with a lively grin on his face. "I promised I would teach you, didn't I?"

Ellie's eyebrows raised as she remembered that he _had _told her that, making her even more excited.

Whenever Joel looked at her these days, he couldn't help but start to feel a little sad every time, but in a good and loving way. She was the closest person he was ever going to find to Sarah, and sometimes he even forgot that Ellie wasn't his daughter. For so long, it had felt like it could be true. But both of them treated eachother just as if it were. And now, he was watching her grow up. He never thought he would be able to do that with someone he loved this much.

Joel's eyes trailed back down to the guitar as he began plucking at the strings and turning a few of the pegs. She stared in amazement. His fingers picked at them ever so delicately, and soon she was listening to the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. The way the strings slightly echoed in her ears as they bounced off the walls of the large room, and the way his fingers looked as they moved so gracefully- it was all so breathtaking.

She gasped and leaned forward, not being able to take her eyes off of it. She wondered how someone could know how to play such an instrument. It looked so complicated to her. After a few moments, her eyes trailed up to Joel. She had never seem him like this. It was obvious how passionate he was. She couldn't imagine how amazing it must've felt for him. His eyes were closed, and she noticed his head slightly moving in time with the music. His foot was also tapping.

Ellie began to feel her nose tingle, feeling ridiculous for almost crying at this. It was incredible how drastic things could change. One minute you are twisting a knife through a clicker's neck, the next you are absolutely mesmerized by the sound of music. Nothing but you and the instrument, as if nothing else in the world existed.

Watching Joel like this reminded her of how much he changed, as well. She remembered it like the back of her hand how strenuous and heated he used to be. Touching was the only word she could think of to describe it.

As she continued to stare in amazement, she also realized that this was the first time in her life she actually heard real music. It made her eyes water again and she had to scrunch up her nose for the tingly feeling to go away.

As if the sound of the guitar wasn't beautiful enough, Ellie thought she heard the faintest humming sound and looked up to see that it was coming from Joel. It made a wide grin tug on the ends of her lips. There was an audible vibration in his hums, which soon turned into words. She wondered if he even remembered she was in the room with him.

He looked over at her for a few moments while he played, smiling at her. Then, he ended the music with a soft and slow strum. Ellie didn't want it to be finished. The silence felt weird to her all of a sudden. She looked up at him again, the same astonished expression glued on her face.

Joel repositioned himself and the guitar, twisting it over slightly in his lap. "Wow..." He grinned, pleased. "Sounds good!" There was a small chuckle in his voice.

Ellie thought that was an understatement. "Are you kidding?" She beamed. "That was more than good. That was amazing!" There was so much excitement in her that she found herself rising to her feet as she spoke. "I didn't know you could sing."

He chuckled and looked up at her. "I may be a bit rusty." They looked at eachother for a few moments. "I used to sing that to Sarah all the time when she was a baby."

Ellie's smile faded away at the mention of Sarah. She always felt like she personally knew her, even though she didn't, and that she felt Joel's pain. But, she knew that she had to be special if Joel openly talked about Sarah to her as often as he did now.

She didn't know what to say, and instead just stood there, rubbing her arm.

"Boy, she could cry." His gaze travelled to the ground for a few moments before looking back up at Ellie, changing the subject. "You wanna try?"

Her lips parted and her eyes widened at his question. "Can I?" Her voice was quieter now.

"Come here." Joel rested the guitar on the ground against the bed before motioning for her to sit.

Without a word, she took a few slow steps forward, then turned around and sat in his lap. She was almost seventeen, but things like these he never got to have with her when she was a kid.

It was so quiet, with only the sound of them shifting and the peaceful rain outside.

His hand naturally rested on her hip and he motioned for her to pick up the guitar. She did, her right hand resting awkwardly on the bottom of it. He couldn't help but chuckle at it. "Right here." Joel gently took her arm and put it ontop.

"It feels weird." She giggled, her elbow jerking as she tried to make her arm comfortable.

"You get used to it." He said, grinning. "Alright," Joel moved his head to look over her shoulder at the guitar. He took her left hand and positioned it on the neck. "Now, these are the frets." He pointed at the vertical lines that travelled all the way down. "You see?"

Ellie nodded innocently.

"So your fingers are gonna go on three of them, one for each." She listened intently as he spoke. "That's gonna make a chord."

"Okay." She said quietly.

"But we're gonna learn an easy one, alright?" She didn't say anything, but instead watched as he soon began pinning her fingers in certain places. Her fingers were limp. "No, keep it there. You gotta really press down otherwise it's not sound gonna sound right."

She followed his instructions, although it was making her fingers cramp up. "Like that?" She asked.

"That's right," He checked to make sure they were all in the right places. "Now, _that_," He paused. "is a 'C' chord."

"Joel, that's not easy!" He laughed at her, but she clearly wasn't. "It hurts my fingers."

"Don't worry, you get used to that, too." She looked over at him for a few moments and couldn't help but also crack a smile. "But, look at that, you got your first chord!"

"Yay!" She exclaimed.

"Now, when you strum, you're gonna want to put your pointer finger and your thumb together," He demonstrated for her, holding out his hand in front of her so she could see. "And you're gonna use this part..." His other arm swung infront of her to point at the tip of his finger. "...to strum." He kept his right hand in that position and strummed on the guitar gently. "Like that." He finished.

Ellie gasped, still holding the chord on her other hand. "That sounded so pretty!"

Joel's face lit up at her excitement. "It did, didn't it? Alright, now you're gonna try." He moved his arm away and made sure both her hands were in the right positions again. "Try pressing a little harder on the frets here this time."

Ellie took a few moments to make sure she had her positions perfect, her entire face scrunched up in concentration before she strummed on the guitar gently. She let it ring in her ears before looking over at Joel. "Did I do it right?"

"You sure did!" She grinned widely, fully proud of herself. "Try it again." He encouraged her, and she did. Then, he rested his right hand on hers and guided it up and down to create a strumming pattern. After a while, he could feel her hand underneath his beginning to perfect the pattern. He soon released his grip and let her strum. He nodded continuously, watching her hands and fingers. "Just like that... down, down, down-up, down-up." He narrated her movements continuously in time with her.

She giggled, listening to the sound of her playing.

"Now keep that..." He gestured at her strumming hand. "and I'm gonna take over here. You ready?"

"Uh-huh." She replied happily.

His left hand hovered around the frets before Ellie let go, and his fingers replaced hers. He switched chords every four counts as she kept strumming.

After a while, Joel began to hum again and Ellie realized it was the same song he was playing before. Her gaze stayed focused on her moving arm, then trailed up to Joel's and watched as he continued to switch chords. Her head turned for a moment to look at him. "Good!" He smiled at her, nodding. "Keep going."

Ellie soon found herself beginning to hum along with him. She didn't know the song, but had caught on with the rhythm by now. She was half-improvising and half-copying Joel.

They played and sung in harmony for what felt like hours. It was so peaceful, and Ellie still couldn't believe she was actually playing guitar, let alone holding one.

Finally, their hands slowed to a stop, ending on a stretched-out strum. Ellie could hear the ringing of each individual string as her fingers smoothly brushed over them.

They sat in silence for a few heartwarming minutes, absorbing the beauty of the moment. Ellie's lips tugged into an uneven grin again before looking over her shoulder at Joel.

"Well, look at that, you're a natural." He complimented her. His voice was just above a whisper.

Carefully, Ellie leaned forward to place the guitar on the ground next to them and leant it against the foot of the bed. She then leaned back in Joel's lap, slightly slouching with her hands folded in front of her. She couldn't stop grinning.

"You sure you didn't know how to play before?" His head slightly leaned over her left shoulder.

Ellie chuckled and nodded. "I'm sure." Their voices were so quiet, and by the sound of it, Ellie thought the rain had actually lightened compared to earlier.

"I'm proud of you." He playfully ruffled her hair, making her hunch her shoulders.

She slouched further into him and craned her neck toward his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm pretty proud of me too."

"What do you say tomorrow I give you another lesson?" Joel wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in closer.

"I'd like that." Ellie smiled and didn't realize she was closing her eyes.

He gently kissed the top of her head and rubbed her arm, leaning into her.

She was actually beginning to feel tired now. Turns out a guitar lesson was all she needed.


End file.
